Decoloyarns

Eligibility

Decoloyarns is a website for everyone, that anyone can contribute to; whether you’re Indigenous or non-Indigenous, scholarly or not.

Pitching

If you’ve got a story, a collaboration, an idea for a topic, or you want to share something you’ve learnt from a yarn or research activity, here’s what you can do:

1. Read a Decoloyarn.
   Get a sense of where you’re pitching, based on what’s come before. Decoloyarns can be experimental (we love work that challenges academic conventions), and we welcome yarns that come from acknowledging and working for Indigenous Peoples, Nations, and Territories across this earth.
   

2. Make sure you’re referring to Indigenous Peoples, Nations and Territories in respectful ways. You can find a helpful set of guidelines here.
    
3. Write down your idea.
   It doesn’t have to be long – a paragraph, or a sentence: let yourself be creative, let yourself not have answers to everything, and if you’re feeling nervous just write down the worst version of the idea that you possibly can, (this is a great trick that means you set a low bar and can only pleasantly surprise yourself.) We encourage pitches no longer than 500 words. For examples of reasons you might pitch, visit the bottom of this page.
    
4. Send it to us.
   Email: decoloyarns@gmail.com, and title the email ‘Decoloyarns Pitch’. When you email the Decoloyarns Editorial Circle your pitch will be enthusiastically received by a group of supporters. (See our note on contacting the Editors below).
    
5. We’ll get back to you.
   We will always aim to get back to you within a month of your email. When you hear back from us, you can anticipate encouragement, suggestions, and next steps.

Drafting

Our drafting processes can be more like a short mentorship. If your pitch is accepted, we will work with you to craft a contribution.

For example, when we first sit together, the Circle will ask you:

1. Can you begin the yarning journey by giving a personalised Acknowledgement of Country? (Make sure you’ve read How to do an Acknowledgement of Country beforehand so you know what we mean.)
2. Who are you and where do you come from?
3. How does who you are and where you come from influence how you approach working with Indigenous peoples and decolonisation?
4. What excites you about developing a Decoloyarn?

These can also be useful questions to consider when drafting your pitch.

The editorial circle for Decoloyarning believe editing is a conversation that is led by First Peoples first: this means, firstly, that a First Nations cultural authority will consider your pitch and determine whether it is a good fit for Decoloyarns. The Editorial Circle then collectively offer our respective expertise to ideas and pieces, with Indigenous Sovereignty, protocol, and authority at the core of the review and development process. Sometimes this means you’ll produce a few versions of your piece in the process of reaching your final story, but every iteration will be met with encouragement and thoughtfulness from First People and non-Indigenous co-conspirators alike. You won’t be alone in this process, and we can’t wait to see what you send us.

Contacting the Editors

At the centre of the Editorial Circle are Wiradyuri principles, guided by two Wiradyuri women. All Editors, contributors, and submissions participate in these principles – namely, yindyamarra. This means you are invited to pitch your piece to us respectfully, with strength, dignity, humility and integrity: for yourself, for Country, and for the Editorial Circle. The Circle is expected to extend the same back to you: we want to see your work shine. We are responsible for each other.

Examples

How do you know if you have an idea for a piece? Here are some examples we made up to help you get a sense of the variety of works we’re open to:

1. I want to do a Decoloyarn but I want to use (culturally appropriate and culturally approved of) drawings/audio/poetry and a short statement rather than lots of text.
   
2. I’m doing a research project where my skills are being used by First People. I want to tell the story of how I learnt protocols and how research outcomes were meaningful not as a measure, but as a lesson in how I can be valuable in supporting Indigenous Sovereignty.
   
3. I just presented my research at my university, my research is with my community, and I think what I presented would make an interesting Decoloyarn that I can present back to my family.
   
4. I want to make suggestions of cool readings I found by First Nations scholars that would enrich the course I’m currently doing or that I just finished. Here’s what I learnt from those readings!
   
5. I’m an academic and I want to reflect on how my practice could be shifted or enriched, in relationship with a specific reading by an Indigenous scholar.